


Kiss You Again

by seaunicorn



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, RA waverly, also nicole plays basketball with dolls, i couldn't figure out how to fit doc in sorry friends, women's studies major nicole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 04:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7251676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaunicorn/pseuds/seaunicorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nicole finds an important note that was left in the library book she just checked out and does a little sleuthing to find who it belongs to. (Hint: it's Waverly)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kiss You Again

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt from alycidebnam on Tumblr!

Nicole Haught has been patiently waiting for the 16th of the month, because that’s when the book she needs from the library is due to be returned.  Her paper is due on the 20th, so that gives her just enough time to…skim through it for a couple of talking points, and maybe pull out a couple of choice quotes.  She’s hoping for a B+ at this rate.

Nicole rushes across campus from her dorm to the library, and heads directly for the second floor, to the shelf where it _should_ be located.  But it’s not.  Nicole groans and heads back downstairs.

The student at the front desk is fast asleep on an open textbook, and, considering it is eight in the morning and he probably doesn’t want to be at work, Nicole doesn’t blame him.  However, she desperately needs this book for her paper, so she impatiently taps on the counter and says, “Excuse me?”

The boy jerks his head up and wipes a little drool away from his mouth.  “Wh-what?”  He blinks a couple times and sees Nicole standing in front of the desk, smiling at him.  “Shit, sorry,” he mutters.  “What can I do for you?”  This guy is definitely not a morning person.

“I’m looking for a book,” Nicole says, getting straight to business.  “It should have been returned by today, but I checked the shelf and it’s not there.”

“Let me look that up for you,” he says through a yawn.  “Title and author?”

“ _Tidal Wave_ by Sarah Evans.”

The boy taps on the keyboard of the computer in front of him.  Nicole notices his eyes start to droop.  He squints at the screen and scrolls down a little.  “Oh, yeah, it’s here,” he says.  “It just hasn’t been returned to the shelf yet.”

He says nothing else.  Nicole stares at him, waiting for him to continue, but he doesn’t.  She clears her throat.  He jumps and looks back at her.  “Can you get it for me?”

“Oh!” he says, like it didn’t cross his mind to do that.  “Yeah, sure.  Gimme a sec.”

The boy gets up and disappears into the back room.  Nicole continually checks her watch as she taps her foot impatiently on the floor.  Five minutes go by…. Then ten.  Nicole really doesn’t have time for this.  Finally, her friend returns, clutching the book in his hands.  Nicole sighs in relief.  Fucking finally.

The boy gets the book checked out under Nicole’s name promptly.  “Thank you so much!” she says, with the book finally in her possession.  He just nods as he yawns again and puts his head back down on his desk.

Nicole spins around to leave the library and head back to her room, because she still has another couple of hours until her first class of the day.  She opens the book to inspect it, but a slip of paper falls out of the book and onto the ground.  Curious, Nicole picks it up.  It’s a page ripped from a small planner.  Nicole reads the message on it.

_Appointment with Dr. Ruiz – 9AM Friday, March 18 th_

It also has the date March 14th scrawled in the corner.  This was written two days ago by the person who had the book checked out before her.  This probably important reminder was left forgotten in a library book, and they were probably going to miss their appointment that was the day after tomorrow.

Nicole has to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Nicole studies the slip of paper.  The writing is soft and bubbly, much like a girl’s handwriting.  She frowns.  This single note isn’t a whole lot to go on.  She flips through the rest of the book for any other notes left behind, but finds nothing.  However, she does find a single strand of long hair caught between the pages, which confirms her suspicion that it is a woman she’s looking for.

Suddenly, an idea comes to her, and Nicole spins around to return to the front desk, where her not-a-morning-person friend has already fallen back asleep.  She hits the desk, a little harder than the first time, and he wakes up immediately.

“Hey, buddy,” Nicole says.  “I need a favor.  Can you tell me who checked this book out last?” she asks.

“Um,” he says, “I don’t think I’m allowed to give you that information.”

“Come on, please?” Nicole asks again.  She leans over the desk a little and bats her eyelashes flirtatiously.  “I _promise_ I won’t tell anyone.”  She may not be interested in men, but she knows how to get what she wants.

It works.  He sits up a little straighter in his chair and clears his throat.  “Uh, well, maybe I can find something for you.”  Nicole smirks.  He types away at his keyboard again and a few clicks later, he finds something.  “Let’s see… all it says here is that it was checked out by a W. Earp.”

Nicole frowns.  “That’s all you’ve got?” she asks.  “No first name.”

“No,” he says.  “But speaking of names, could I get yours?”

His attempt at flirting is a little pathetic and Nicole uses all her willpower to not roll her eyes at him.  “It’s Katherine,” she says offhandedly, hoping that he’s too tired to remember that he just saw her name on her student ID card to check out the book.  She then promptly turns around and walks out of the library.

  1. _Earp_ , Nicole thinks. It’s not much, but she can work with that.



Nicole spends the hours before her first class of the day figuring out what she knows about this W. Earp.  It’s hard, because she doesn’t have a lot to go on, but she gets somewhere.  She knows it’s a girl, at least.  She also figures the girl is taking a women’s studies class because, honestly, who else would read this book?

And that’s about as far as she’s gotten.  But it’s still a lead, and Nicole’s professor just so happens to be head of the women’s studies department, so she decides to ask for a favor.

Nicole lingers after her class until her professor leaves and walks out with her.

“Great class today, Professor Chapman,” Nicole says.

“Oh, thank you Miss Haught,” she replies.  Nicole continues to follow her as she walks back to her office.  “Is there anything I can do for you?” Chapman asks when she notices that Nicole is still following.

“As a matter of fact, I have a _huge_ favor to ask,” Nicole replies with a smile as they turn into her office.  “Can you find out if there’s anyone named W. Earp in any women’s studies classes?”

Chapman raises an eyebrow at her.  “What for?”

“I found something that belongs to her, I just want to return it,” she replies.

“Just turn it into campus security.  Students should check there for lost belongings.”

“Well, the thing is,” Nicole says.  “I don’t know if she would be looking for it.  And it’s really important.”  Chapman doesn’t reply so Nicole puts on her best encouraging smile.  “Please?”

Chapman frowns for a moment, but then sighs.  “Fine,” she mutters.  “Let me pull up the class rosters.”

Nicole grins.  “Thank you so much!”

After a minute of clicking and typing, Chapman announces, “Sorry, it doesn’t look like there’s any Earps in any Women’s Studies courses this semester.”

“Really?” Nicole sighs.  “I thought for sure…”

Back to square one.

After her two afternoon classes that drag on far too long, Nicole grabs a quick dinner to go from the dining hall heads back to her dorm room to study the note again.  There’s got to be _something_ she can use.

She shovels noodles into her mouth.  All this detective work makes her famished.

And then, with a full stomach and a clear mind, Nicole gets another idea, and she’s not sure why she didn’t think of it before.  It may be a long shot depending on how many Earps exist in the world, but hopefully it’ll help.

She types “Earp” in on the Facebook search bar and sifts through the results.  A couple are Earps whose first names start with letters other than W, but then she spots it: a name that matches her description.

“Wynonna Earp,” Nicole mutters under her breath.  She grins.  Problem solved.  And she has a mutual friend with this Wynonna Earp.

Satisfied with her detective work, Nicole gets started on her actual homework, making a mental note to talk to Dolls the next morning.

Nicole wakes up early on Thursday morning to get to basketball practice at 8am.  It’s not an official school league, but it’s a club college team that they all play for fun.  This is where Nicole confronts her friend.

“Dolls,” she says, and chucks a basketball at him.

He catches it swiftly before it hits him in the face.  She smirks, and he chuckles a little.  “What do you want, Haught?”

“I just wanted to ask you about your friend Wynonna Earp,” Nicole says.

Dolls raises an eyebrow and passes the ball back to Nicole.  “What do you want to know about Wynonna?”

“I was just wondering,” Nicole starts, as they continue to pass the ball back and forth, “did she by any chance check a book out of the library recently?  It’s called _Tidal Wave_.”

Dolls snorts.  “I’m pretty sure Wynonna doesn’t even know where the library _is_.”

Nicole frowns.  “You sure?”

“Pretty sure,” Dolls replies.  “Studies are not that girl’s top priority.  Why?”

“I found something in this book,” Nicole explains.  “It belongs to a W. Earp.  Wynonna was the only one I could figure out so I assumed it was her.”

Dolls nods as he listens to her explanation.  “It could be her sister,” he suggests.

“Sister?”

“Yeah, Waverly,” Dolls says.  “She practically lives in the library.  According to Wynonna.”

“Huh,” Nicole muses.  The gears turn in her head.  It could very probably be this Waverly Earp, since apparently the note doesn’t belong to Wynonna.  “Do you know how I can get in touch with her?”

Dolls shakes his head.  “I don’t really know her.  She’s just Wynonna’s little sister.”  Nicole sighs.  Dolls knows Nicole well enough to know that she’s not going to just drop this.  He tosses her the ball again and offers something else.  “She’s an RA in one of the freshman dorms,” he says.  “Miller Hall, I think.”

Nicole nods, a grin forming on her lips.  “You’re the best, Dolls.”

“I know.”

After basketball practice, Nicole desperately needs a shower before her class.  She finds herself thrown from one place to another, and by the time she’s finally free and can meet with this Waverly Earp, it’s already dark outside.  She’s almost out of time, considering this appointment is tomorrow morning, but Nicole will return this piece of paper, damn it!

Nicole makes her way to Miller Hall.  She hasn’t been on this side of campus since her freshman year and feels out of place.  _Was I that small when I was a freshman?_

Nicole shakes her head and pushes open the door to Miller Hall.  It doesn’t take a whole lot of exploring, as the RA’s room is the first one on the first floor, and the most extensively decorated door.  The theme for the floor appears to be _Harry Potter_ , so her door is covered with pictures of the books, cardboard wands, glasses, and lightning bolt scars.  The name _Waverly Earp_ is written on the door in neat cursive.

Nicole glances down at the note she has clutched in her hand, a little wrinkled from her investigation.  She smooths it out a little, then takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.

A loud crash comes from the room on the other side of the door, followed by a slew of curses, a bit of shuffling, then the sound of footsteps.  A moment later, the door swings open.  Nicole is caught off guard when she has to look down to find a girl almost a head shorter than her standing in front of her.

Nicole is also caught off guard by how beautiful Waverly Earp is.

Waverly’s long hair falls over her shoulders as she tilts her head to the side.  She offers a smile makes Nicole’s heart beat a little faster.  “Can I help you?” she asks.

Nicole’s mouth falls open, but no words come out.  She really should have planned what she was going to say to avoid standing and gaping like an idiot, which is what she was currently doing.  “I—um,” Nicole stutters.  She takes another breath.  “I think this is yours,” is all she says, and holds out the piece of paper in her hands.

Waverly takes it gently and looks at her curiously.  “How did you…?”

“You had this book checked out before me, _Tidal Wave_ , right?” Nicole asks.  Waverly nods slowly.  Nicole tries not to think about how adorable the confused expression on her face is.  “This paper fell out of it and, well, I thought it was important and I didn’t want you to miss your appointment. So I, uhh, found out who checked out the book last, but it only listed W. Earp.  I tried to find someone in a women’s studies class because those are the only people who would use this book, but that didn’t work so I went to Facebook.  I thought it was your sister Wynonna at first because I’m friends with her friend Dolls but then he thought it was more likely it would be you and now that I’m saying all this out loud it sounds awful.”

This gets a soft laugh out of Waverly.  The sound is like music to Nicole’s ears.

“I promise I’m not a stalker,” Nicole says with a nervous smile.  “I just come from a family of detectives.”

Waverly nods her head in realization.  “That makes…a lot of sense.”

They share a small smile, and maybe Nicole is just a little hopeful, but she thinks she sees a blush form across Waverly’s cheeks.  “So,” she says.  “I’m just here to return that.  Because your appointment is tomorrow morning and I would hate for you to miss it.”

Waverly bites her lip as she looks down at the paper with a smile.  “That’s very thoughtful,” she says.  “Thank you.”

This time it’s Nicole’s turn to blush.  “You’re welcome.”

“But,” Waverly starts.  “It was kind of unnecessary.  I, um, I had already put the appointment into the calendar on my phone.”

Nicole’s face falls in shock, and she’s definitely blushing now.  “Shit,” she mutters.  “I hadn’t thought about that.”  She shakes her head and sighs.  “I’m so sorry, I’m an idiot.”

“No!” Waverly replies quickly.  “No, you’re not an idiot.  That’s really sweet, what you did.”

“You think?” Nicole asks.

Waverly nods.  “Can I at least thank you for all the trouble you went through to get this back to me?” she asks.  “I have some extra cookies from a program yesterday.  You can come in and have some?”

Nicole blinks.  “Y-yeah,” she stutters.  “I’d like that.”

Waverly’s responding grin almost makes Nicole’s heart flutter out of her chest.  Waverly opens the door a little wider to let her in.

Nicole steps into the room and lets the door close behind her.  The desk in the corner is covered with papers, and there’s a stack of books that’s taller than Waverly herself.  Her bed also has books strewn across it, as well as an overflowing bookshelf next to it.  It’s pretty spacious, for a freshman dorm room; there’s a small table and a couch, but plenty of leftover floor space.

“Perks of being an RA,” Waverly says.  “I get my own room.”

“I can see that,” Nicole says.  “Nice setup you’ve got here.”

“Thanks,” Waverly replies.  “You can sit.  Cookies are on the table.  You want anything to drink?”

“Water’s fine,” Nicole says as she grabs a cookie.

Nicole sits on the couch and watches as Waverly moves to the mini fridge in the corner and pulls out two bottles of water.  “What was your name again?”

“Nicole.  Nicole Haught.”

“Nicole… Haught?” Waverly asks, with emphasis on the _Haught_ , then not so subtly looks Nicole up and down with a small, approving smile.  Nicole may have been teased for her last name when she was younger, but recently it’s done more good by getting cute girls like Waverly Earp to think about how attractive she is.

Nicole feels herself blush under Waverly’s gaze.  “Yeah.”

“You a junior?”  Nicole nods.  Waverly sits down next to Nicole on the couch and hands her a bottle of water.  Nicole’s arm is stretched across the back of the couch, but she doesn’t retract it when Waverly sits.  “Me too.  How come we haven’t met before?”

“It’s a big school,” Nicole says with a shrug.

Waverly agrees, and takes a drink from her water.  “How’s the cookie, Nicole?” she asks.

Nicole realizes she hasn’t eaten it yet, so she takes a bite.  “It’s good.”  Waverly grabs a cookie for herself and takes a bite.  Nicole brushes a few crumbs from her face as she studies the other girl.  “Waverly, can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“What’s your major?” Nicole asks.

Waverly blinks in confusion; she obviously wasn’t expecting this question.  “Um, History and Latin.”

“Double major?”

Waverly nods.  “Also a minor in modern languages.”

“Damn,” Nicole breathes.  That sounds like a heavy workload.  “So why did you have _Tidal Wave_ checked out of the library if you’re not taking any women’s studies classes?” Nicole asks.  “Was it for something else?”

“Oh, um, no,” Waverly stutters, embarrassed.  “I just like to read.  I saw a couple of reviews for it online and it seemed interesting.  And it was!  Have you read it yet?  What do you think?”

Nicole’s eyes widen when she realizes that she hasn’t even started the book yet.  “Shit,” she mutters.

“What?”

“I haven’t even started the book,” Nicole sighs.  “My paper is due on _Monday_ and I haven’t even started.”

“You can borrow my notes if you want.”

Nicole raises an eyebrow at her.  “Wait, let me get this straight,” Nicole says.  “You borrowed a women’s studies book from the library to read for fun with your already incredibly busy workload, and took _notes_ on it?”

Waverly is definitely blushing as she nods her head yes.

“That’s really nerdy,” Nicole says with a grin.  She’s not sure if this girl could get any more adorable.  She sees Waverly’s face fall a little and catches herself.  “Sorry, I mean, that’s really nerdy but like, in a really cute way.”

Waverly’s smile returns immediately.  “You calling me cute?”

Nicole could play it cool, but if she’s being honest with herself, she doesn’t really want to.  “Yeah, I am,” she says.

Waverly smiles again, biting her lip and damn if it’s not the cutest thing Nicole has ever seen.  She quickly finishes her cookie and takes a drink of water.  She wants nothing more than to kiss Waverly right here, right now, but thinks it would probably be best if she doesn’t do that.  Instead, she stands up and lets her hand brush Waverly’s shoulder.

“You’re leaving?” Waverly asks with a frown.                                

Nicole nods.  “Thanks,” she says, “for the cookie.”

“Thanks for the note.”  Nicole starts to head for the door, but suddenly, Waverly jumps off the couch.  “Wait!”  She rushes over to her desk and looks through her drawers before she pulls out a notebook and turns to a page in the middle.  She folds it over, grabs a pen, and writes something on the top.

“Here,” she says, handing it to Nicole.  “My notes on the book.”

Nicole grabs the notebook and looks at the page to find Waverly’s phone number written on the top.  She looks up and meets Waverly’s eyes, and they share a nervous, flirty grin.  “Thanks,” Nicole says.  “I’ll, uh—I’ll get this back to you as soon as I’m done with my paper.”  Nicole can’t seem to tear her eyes away from Waverly as she makes her way to the door.  Waverly giggles when she bumps into the dresser and as she fumbles for the door knob.  As she opens the door and steps through, she turns back once more.  “I’ll see you around, Waverly Earp,” Nicole says, and closes the door behind her as she leaves.

Nicole plans to text Waverly, she really does, but it slips from her mind because she has only three days to actually read the book and write this paper.  Every time she glances at the notes Waverly let her borrow and sees the phone number scrawled at the top, she gets the urge to send her a text message, but she _knows_ that with a girl like Waverly as a distraction, she would never get this paper finished.

It’s one in the morning on Sunday night when she finally texts the phone number.

 **Nicole:** Finished my paper! Thanks for the help :)                                                         

Nicole doesn’t expect a response until the next morning, but her phone chimes with a new message almost instantly.

 **Waverly:** Who is this?

Right.  She probably should have said her name.

 **Nicole:** Nicole Haught. You gave me your notes on tidal wave

 **Waverly:** Oh Nicole! Hi! It’s been a few days, I forgot

Nicole sighs.  Maybe Waverly had wanted her to text as much as Nicole really wanted to text her.

 **Nicole:** Sorry bout that. I had to bust my ass on this paper. I can return your notes like tomorrow

Nicole expects that to be the end of the conversation, but her phone chimes again.

 **Waverly:** What about now?

Nicole feels her throat dry up, so she gulps.  She’s not really sure if Waverly is intentionally implying a booty call, but then again, it is one in the morning, and what else could it be? Nicole wants to do this right. She wants to get to know Waverly and take her out on a date, but if Waverly wants her to come over _right now_ , well, Nicole’s not going to say no.

Nicole texts her a quick, _on my way_ , before grabbing a jacket and heading out the door.  She almost forgets the notebook in her haste.

It takes ten minutes to trek across campus to the freshman dorms.  Nicole’s heart is racing, both from nervousness and from practically sprinting from her room, as she knocks on Waverly’s door.  Almost immediately, the door flies open.

“Hey,” Nicole says with a smile, trying to act casual.  She’s thought about Waverly a lot the past couple of days, but she almost forgot how beautiful she is.  “Here’s your notebook.”  Nicole holds up the pages and offers it to Waverly.

Instead of taking the notebook from her hands, Waverly surprises Nicole when she grabs her wrist, pulls her inside, and closes the door behind them.  Waverly backs Nicole into the door so she is pressed up against it, pulls her head down, and kisses her.

Kissing Waverly Earp is definitely way better than Nicole could have imagined.  Waverly cups her cheek and kisses her desperately, and Nicole holds her and kisses back.  After a moment, Waverly pulls back, breathing heavily, and she doesn’t meet Nicole’s eyes.

“Sorry,” Waverly mutters.

“Hey,” Nicole says, still a little breathless from the kiss.  She squeezes Waverly’s hand, so Waverly will look up at her.  “That was nice.”

“Yeah?” Waverly asks timidly.  Nicole nods.  “I’m sorry, I just—I’ve never done this before.”

Nicole looks at her curiously.  “Done what?”

Waverly gestures between the two of them.  “This,” she says.  “With a girl, I mean.”

Nicole feels the disappointment like a punch to the gut.  “Oh,” she breathes.  “Look, Waverly, I do like you, but I don’t want to just be some college experiment, if that’s what this is.  Maybe I should go.”

Waverly realizes her mistake and grabs onto Nicole a little tighter.  “No!  I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean, then?” Nicole asks with a frown.

“I just got out of a relationship,” Waverly says.  “With a boy.  Man.  Um, we were together for four years up until last month and I’ve never been with anyone else.  But when I met you, I felt… I don’t know.  It was different from him, but I liked it.”  She hesitates and looks down at her feet with a blush on her cheeks.  “You’re kind of special, Nicole.”

Nicole doesn’t really know what to say to that.  She sighs and looks at Waverly, who looks back up at her with the most hopeful and sincere eyes.  Nicole reaches out and brushes her fingers against Waverly’s cheek.  Waverly sighs and closes her eyes.

“I promise you’re not just some experiment,” Waverly continues.  “I don’t really know _what_ I am, in terms of like a label, but I know I like you.  And I know that I want to explore this and get to know you.  And I know that I really, _really_ want to kiss you again."

This makes Nicole smile.  At least they’re on the same page.  “Okay,” she says.  “Let me take you out for coffee tomorrow?”

Waverly nods enthusiastically.  “Deal.”

“Great,” Nicole smirks.  “Then it’s a date.”  Waverly’s cheek splitting grin makes Nicole’s heart soar, and she realizes that she’s still pressed up against the door, and that Waverly is still very close to her.  “But,” she starts, “since I’m already here… Where were we?”

Waverly’s smile disappears as she looks at Nicole and licks her lips, before she reattaches their mouths.  Nicole kisses her gently, and wraps her arms around Waverly’s waist.  She lets Waverly set the pace with whatever she’s comfortable with.  Waverly cups Nicole’s cheeks and her fingers brush against soft skin, then move back to thread through her hair and tug her closer.

They move away from the door, lips still glued together, and fall back against the table.  Waverly struggles to lift herself, so Nicole picks her up and sets her down on the table.  Waverly’s legs wrap around Nicole’s waist, and Nicole’s hips push forward a little.  She gasps when Waverly’s wandering hands dip under her shirt, and bites back a moan when Waverly’s tongue pushes into her mouth.

Waverly tugs at Nicole’s shirt and she’s got it half off when there’s a sharp knock at the door.  They freeze.

“Waaaave,” comes a voice from the hallway.  “Lemme in.”’

Waverly finally exhales the breath she was holding in.  “It’s my sister,” she mutters.  She helps Nicole get her shirt back on, then opens the door.

Wynonna stumbles in, extremely intoxicated, and lays down on the couch.

“What are you doing here Wynonna?” Waverly asks.

“There was a party,” Wynonna slurs.  “Your room’s closer.”

Nicole watches as Waverly grabs a water bottle from her fridge and offers it to Wynonna, who takes a little sip.  “I’ll go,” says Nicole.

Waverly turns to her with an apologetic frown on her face.

“Who the hell are you?” Wynonna asks, sitting upright on the couch, as she finally notices Nicole.

“Nicole Haught.”

“Dolls’ friend?”  Nicole nods.  “That’s nice,” Wynonna says, as she starts to lay down again.  Her eyes droop a little, dozing off.

“I’m sorry,” Waverly says as she steps away from Wynonna, leaving the water bottle on the floor next to her.  “She does this sometimes.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Nicole says sincerely.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Waverly.”  Waverly smiles, and before Nicole leaves, she stands up on her tip toes to press another quick kiss to her lips.  It surprises Nicole, and she has an air of euphoria around her as she makes her way out of the room.

“Text me?” Waverly asks as she leaves.

“Of course.”

They share one last look before Nicole leaves, although as soon as the door closes behind her, she leans against it for a moment, a grin on her face, and takes a deep breath.  This is not at all what Nicole expected to happen from going to the library for a book, but it was worth it.  And she can’t wait for her date with Waverly tomorrow.


End file.
